AS a fellow ‘Yorkie’ born and bred, I agree with Mary Morton’s verdict on Shambles in her letter ‘Pun created a stir’, The Press page 20, April 8.

However, at least one improvement can be cited; the ‘potty-emptying’ practice from upper storeys (accompanied by the warning cry, ‘Garde a l’eau!’, which became ‘Gardyloo’), has thankfully ceased.

When I worked at Pickerings bookshop in the street there were a few occasions when watering our hanging baskets we’d splash the occasional passer-by but not like in the ‘good old days’.

Derek Reed,

Middlethorpe Drive,

York

—

I had to chuckle

IT’S not often war provides a chuckle, but Tony Fisher stating as a fact that Trump has been lying about the progress of negotiations with Iran the very day a temporary deal is officially struck, did provide me with one.

To wrongly conclude no deal was being worked on, I can only assume he had his ear pressed against the wrong door in the Pentagon.

Dr Scott Marmion,

Woodthorpe,

York

—

Great day out

IT was great to see the York Model Railway show over the Easter Weekend at the Knavesmire.

What I liked about it was not only did you have exhibitors from Yorkshire but form the rest of the country as well.

There seems to be a great interest in model railways that you thought that somewhere like the National Railway Museum would after the revamp be able to stage a similar event.

Timothy Wynn Werninck,

Dodgson Terrace,

Acomb,

York

—

In praise of the ferret

IT’S nice to read a good news story in the paper – the reuniting of the ferret with its owner.

Ferrets are lovely; very inquisitive and full of mischief, although they sleep between 14 to 18 hours a day – so a bit of a specialised pet.

They are best kept in pairs and relatively easily hand trained and toilet trained to use a litter tray.

My uncle Fred used to keep them for a while for rabbiting until Myxomatosis (a contagious viral disease effecting rabbits) put paid to that.

Fed on cat food, they also liked bread soaked in milk and fresh raw meat and the occasional dead mouse or bird.

Ferrets are a very interesting and unusual pet.

D M Deamer,

Penleys Grove Street,

Monkgate,

York

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The supermarket has issued a recall

Tesco is recalling a dessert item as it has been deemed “unsafe to eat”. A Food Standards Agency (FSA) recall notice said that Tesco Finest Summer Edition Chocolate Affogato Dessert may contain pieces of plastic.

The affected product has a pack size of 538g and best-before dates of up to and including April 2027.

The FSA said: “This product may contain pieces of plastic, which makes the product unsafe to eat. Tesco is recalling the above product and has issued a recall notice to alert customers. These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product.

“If you have bought the above product do not eat it. Instead, return it to any Tesco store for a full refund. For further information, please visit Tesco’s contact Tesco page at: tesco.com/help/contact”

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About product recalls and withdrawals

The FSA explained: “If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be ‘withdrawn’ (taken off the shelves) or ‘recalled’ (when customers are asked to return the product).

“The FSA issues Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food. In some cases, a ‘Food Alert for Action’ is issued.

“This provides local authorities with details of specific action to be taken on behalf of consumers.”

Taking a leap of faith and turning your business dream into a reality is always a risk but it’s one that’s certainly paid off for this busy working mum

Taking a leap of faith and turning your business dream into a reality is always a risk, never more so than during a global pandemic.

But that’s exactly what busy working mum Olivia Burns did back in 2020. After taking voluntary redundancy, Olivia founded her candle and home fragrance business Olivia’s Haven just as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold and the world locked down. She worked through the pandemic from her home studio in her native Coleraine to build the business one candle at a time.

Six years on, that risk has certainly paid off with a thriving business in the “phygital era”—the fusion of physical store experiences with the more digital TikTok shop approach. After almost a decade working in branding for both big global companies and smaller start-ups, Olivia always desired to create her own brand from start to finish.

READ MORE: ‘I swapped Amazon to walk the streets with strangers – I wouldn’t change it for the world’READ MORE: Riot Cycle – Inside Belfast’s newest exercise craze that’s more than just a spin class

A self-confessed candle lover, in January 2019 her fascination with the link between scent and how it helped her recall her own memories grew. She started experimenting with wax and fragrance oils to create the ultimate range of scented candles inspired by her own childhood memories. But it wasn’t just about creating a great range of products for Olivia’s Haven; they also needed to look just as amazing as they smell.

Initially starting online, Olivia went on to establish shops in Coleraine, another on the Belmont Road in east Belfast and a pop-up store on Ann Street in Belfast city centre in the run up to Christmas 2025. Olivia produces her range of soy candles and home fragrance at the firm’s base in Coleraine.

She told Belfast Live: “This all came about because I just loved home fragrance and candles. I loved having a beautiful home to come back to that just smelt warm and welcoming. But I also wanted to find scents that were totally unique because I found that when you went to the supermarket for example, all the fragrances were pretty boring or samey.

“I wanted something that was totally unique and really exciting but also looked beautiful and looked as good as they smelled—that’s what we’ve worked really hard to do. We started with just six soy wax candles and now we’ve got about 50 scents in our range overall which also includes reed diffusers, wax melts and room sprays.”

Olivia explained how the wide range of scents on offer are all linked to memories and stories: “All of our scents start with the story and then, the scent follows after that. For example we have one called ‘The Potting Shed,’ and the story behind that is my dad and his love of gardening.

“I really wanted to get that scent completely perfect with that feeling when you walk into a greenhouse or a potting shed and a gorgeous natural smell of greenery, tomato vines, and it’s lovely and earthy as well. The story behind the scent appears on every candle and diffuser box.

“Others in the range like ‘The Wedding,’ I had for my own wedding day and it smells like a beautiful bouquet of summer flowers while ‘The Nursery,’ as you might expect, smells like a beautiful fresh baby powder fragrance. We use soy wax and toxin-free ingredients and eliminate all the nasties from the products, so a lot of people like nice to burn in your home and you’re not breathing in paraffin wax which you do with mass produced candles.

As well as the physical stores, Olivia’s Haven sells its products on its website, as well as online on TikTok.

She explained: “We’re quite unique in that we have physical stores, plus we have the online and then we really lean into our socials as well. We do a lot on TikTok including live selling and packing our products to send them out across the world. Our beautiful physical stores give people the full experience and one of the reasons we did go down that route was just because we knew people wanted to hold, touch and smell our products and feel that quality as well.

For anyone considering making their business dream a reality, Olivia has this advice: “I had it in my head that I was going to start a business before I was 30. On my 30th birthday I had a big glass of Prosecco and was just like ‘right, I’m just going to put out my first Instagram post and then I’m committed and have to it.’

“Just do it and don’t worry about what other people think. You’ll regret more what you didn’t do than what you did. ‘Take a leap and the net will appear’ was always a little quote that was in my head. It’s really risky, but things tend to work out if you take the risk and put the work in.”

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Full fibre broadband is a non-negotiable in today’s fast-moving digital world. Whether it is an online business, a physical store or both, nowadays retailers rely on a steady internet connection to operate and communicate with customers as well as ensuring their day-to-day operations run smoothly.

Colin Hutchinson, managing director of Fibrus Group said: “Reliable, high-speed broadband is now essential to businesses, whether it’s powering card payments and stock systems in store or enabling brands to sell, stream and engage customers online in real time.

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The incident took place on Good Friday, April 3, on Lee Lane, Horwich, when a car collided with three pedestrians outside the Victoria and Albert Pub, leaving two hospitalised.

A 33-year-old man remains in custody for questioning after being arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, Greater Manchester Police confirmed this week.

A GMP spokesperson said: “At around 10.53pm on Friday, April 3, we were called to reports of a road traffic collision between a car and three pedestrians.

“Emergency services attended, and two men were taken to hospital for treatment.

“A 33-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.

“He remains in custody for questioning, and enquiries are ongoing.”

The incident occurred outside the Victoria and Albert pub at around 10.53pm.

The pub did not want to comment on the incident itself due to its sensitivity, but did confirm that one of its staff members had been injured.

“The event has been traumatic for the staff team,” said Kevin Galbraith of the Victoria and Albert, “so we don’t wish to go over it again.

“We have assisted police with their enquiries.”

Greater Manchester Police issued an appeal for CCTV and dashcam footage to aid them in their investigations.

One anonymous Facebook user posted footage of what is thought to be the driver in question.

CCTV footage of pedestrians on the street seconds before the incident (Image: Anonymous)

The car in the footage swerves slightly onto the pavement before returning to the road.

It continues driving behind the car ahead of it before swerving to the left back onto the pavement, exiting the dashcam’s frame.

Horwich Cllr Charlotte Moncado-Sears said: “Horwich isn’t a place where we want people driving dangerously – we’re such a small, close-knit town.

“And Horwich is always so busy on Good Friday – everybody goes up Rivington Pike and comes back down into the village for a drink or something to eat.

“I know it was late, but there could be families and kids there.”

Also shared with the police was CCTV footage showing the moment of the incident, taken from the camera of a nearby business.

Horwich Councillor Ryan Bamforth said: “I really do hope everyone involved in the incident is alright.”

Anybody with information or footage of the incident is advised to contact GMP on 101 or via the online chat facility on the GMP website.

Anybody not comfortable contacting the police directly can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 to submit their footage/information anonymously.

Police confirmed that they responded to a concern for welfare on East Street just after 1am on Thursday (April 9).

Church Street West had been closed off in both directions with no access to vehicles or pedestrians, and tram services between Bury and Whitefield were suspended for several hours this morning.

Radcliffe Metrolink station had also been taped off.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed a man was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage following the large emergency presence.

 Speaking earlier in the day, a force spokesperson added: “Officers currently responding to a concern for welfare on East Street, Radcliffe, reported at around 1am today (09/04/26).

See all the updates from this incident in our live blog here.

“Road closures are currently in place while emergency services attend.”

Pictures from the scene show a large presence in the area, including ambulances and fire crews as well as the police.

One eyewitness reported seeing a person sitting near a bridge on the main road with a cordon in place.

The Bee Network said services on the Bury Metrolink line had resumed at just after 10.30am, and traffic monitoring site INRIX confirmed traffic on Church Street West was open in both directions by 11.15am.

YORK is getting a unique new bakery from today – based in a garden shed with an honesty box for payment.

The Bread Box is a one-of-kind pop-up run by keen baker Rachael Bell.

Rachael is launching the bakery today from her home in Rawcliffe, York.

On the menu will be a range of savoury treats, many with an unusual twist, as well as homemade butter and treats for dogs.

Rachael, 37, who works full time in HR for an IT firm, told The Press: “I have always worked in the corporate and media industry but always loved baking.

“I tend to do it at the weekend – but there is only so much bread you can eat!”

She got the idea for the pop-up Bread Box after seeing similar enterprises springing up around York where bakers sell cakes and sweet treats from a home setting via an honesty box.

The idea is that customers choose what they want then pay either in cash or via a card machine. Rachael says she also has CCTV installed for everyone’s safety and peace of mind.

The Bread Box will open at 8am today (Friday April 10) and run through to Sunday, with Rachael topping up low supplies from her kitchen, where the oven will be fired up over the weekend.

Scones at The Bread Box Photo – supplied (Image: SUPPLIED)

The plan is to run the business every weekend from the drive at her home at 65 Manor Park Road in Rawcliffe, York. The location is near St Mark’s Church.

On the menu this weekend are a range of items priced from £2 for a pesto and parmesan twist to £3.50 for a farmhouse boule loaf.

Rachael has been experimenting with flavours too. Look out for a spelt loaf with fig and pumpkin seed, which she says is perfect for cheese on toast.

Another novelty is the use of Caramilk chocolate and brown butter, which add a caramel flavour and nuttiness to her products.

And she will be launching a ‘Buttered toast cookie’ – where cookie dough is rolled in buttered toast crumbs then baked.

Rachael Bell of The Bread Box, a pop-up she is running from her drive way in Rawcliffe, York, every weekend. Photo – supplied

“I had to find a way to use up all that bread!” she said.

Her favourite bread is her cheddar and hot honey, she added.

A dog lover – Rachael and her husband have a pet Golden Retriever – she will also be selling treats for dogs.

Rachael said after noticing pop-up home bakeries with honesty boxes springing up across York she thought there was a gap in the market for a bread-focussed one.

“I will be selling bread, scones, pastry and butter. I am self taught and a lot of it is experimental,” she said.

Also for sale will be granola.

And it has all happened rather quickly too. “I decided to do it and the next day I was doing my Amazon order!”

For all the latest updates, follow Rachael on Instagram at @thebreadboxyork.

The world will be watching on April 12 when Hungarians head to the polls in parliamentary elections that will determine the country’s next prime minister. This may sound exaggerated, but these parliamentary elections are about much more than simply whether the incumbent prime minister, Viktor Orbán, will serve another term as Hungary’s leader.

His main challenger, Péter Magyar, was until two years ago a close ally of the Hungarian prime minister. On some key issues – future oil purchases from Russia, resisting fast-track EU accession for Ukraine – Magyar is a continuity candidate who, at best, signals moderation, rather than radical change.

If he fails to win a two-thirds majority, which would allow him to change the constitution and undo many of the deeply undemocratic changes Orbán has made to Hungary’s political system, Magyar’s hands will also be tied domestically and he may not even be able to deliver on his key campaign promise – to clean up the systemic corruption that has thrived under Orbán.

But – while important in itself – the outcome of the elections is almost secondary in a bigger picture of an election campaign that has revealed much about the broader, and increasingly fraught, geopolitical dynamics of European politics.

Orbán has been leaning into his close relationship with the US president, Donald Trump. At one level, this is not surprising. Trump has publicly endorsed him twice this year alone – first in February and then again in March. The US president also dispatched both his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and vice president, J.D. Vance, to Hungary to add weight to his candidacy.

Vance, visiting Hungary just days before the elections, praised Orbán’s governance and leadership style as a model for Europe and attacked the EU for trying to influence the outcome of the vote.

Such blatant election interference by the US in a Nato and EU member state is as unprecedented as it is worrying. It signals a new level of determination by the White House to shape alliances with other far-right populists predicated on the vague notion of “moral cooperation … and the defence of western civilisation”, as Vance put it during his visit to Budapest on April 7.

But while Orbán revelled in Washington’s endorsements, his unconditional embrace of Trump is no longer the dominant approach to Washington among many of Europe’s rightwing populist parties. The appeal of the Maga movement is rapidly diminishing in Europe.

While fulsome in their support for Donald Trump for more than a decade, many European rightwing populists have begun to realise the fraught nature of their association with Trump. “America first” is exactly what it says on the tin. Moreover, Trump’s interpretation of what it means makes it even worse for some of his erstwhile supporters.

For Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, Trump’s cosy relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin runs counter to the almost universal perception of Russia as the main threat to Polish security. For the Danish People’s Party, which sits with the far-right Patriots for Europe faction in the European parliament, Trump’s designs on Greenland were so unpalatable that one of its members, Anders Vistisen, told the US president to “fuck off”.

For others, like the French Rassemblement National (National Rally), Trump’s tariff threats have affected some of their core constituencies among farmers. Even more so, Trump’s illegal war against Iran, hugely unpopular across European electorates, highlights the electoral liabilities of an association with the US president.

This does not make these rightwing populist movements more liberal. They still share a broad resentment of liberalism and what it stands for: open societies, open borders and a commitment to global institutions. But many of these parties have staked their political legitimacy on the defence of the sovereignty of their individual nation states. They are now asking themselves whether this sovereignty is perhaps more threatened by Washington – and Moscow – than by Brussels.

The answer to this question will partly be determined by the outcome of Sunday’s elections in Hungary.

What an Orbán victory would mean

A win for Orbán would, at a minimum, indicate sufficient desire for an autocratic and illiberal model of governance and at least some residual appeal of an alignment with Trump. But that logic may not prevail for long in the face of the conflict in the Middle East and Russia’s continuing onslaught on Ukraine.

Orbán’s close relationship with Putin – and his persistent obstruction of the EU’s Ukraine policy – is likely to leave him increasingly isolated, even among otherwise ideologically close rightwing populists. This vulnerability became apparent as early as 2022 when Orbán’s long-time ally Jaroslaw Kaczynski, then Polish deputy prime minister, publicly bashed his pro-Russian leanings.

Divisions over the EU’s Russia policy have exposed one significant faultline among rightwing populist movements across Europe between those seeking accommodation with the Kremlin and those seeking deterrence and containment. The far-right Sweden Democrats, for example, threatened to leave the European Conservatives and Reformists parliamentary bloc if Orbán’s Fidesz party had been allowed to join. This is precisely because the Hungarian prime minister was seen as too close to Russia.

For these Russia-sceptical parties, Orbán’s alignment with Putin is clearly anathema. Trump’s apparently warm relationship with the Russian president is likely to deepen their unease about aligning too closely with the White House. Geographical proximity to Russia and a long history of confrontation with Russia will remain powerful drivers for these parties’ foreign and security policies.

Trump’s endorsement of Orbán may thus more effectively accelerate Orbán’s isolation among rightwing populists in Europe. This will undermine his agenda of building a powerful coalition of like-minded illiberal leaders eroding the EU from within.

These tensions and contradictions at the heart of a supposedly ideologically well-aligned transatlantic populist right movement predate Hungary’s parliamentary elections and they will outlast them. At a time of almost unprecedented global disorder and uncertainty, the battle for Hungary is both an election campaign and, more broadly, a key episode in the ongoing debate over the meaning of the west as a geopolitical project.

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) said Ireland’s overall fuel supplies remain “robust and resilient” but said the obstruction of key routes from ports is threatening the provision of animal feed supplies, fertiliser and other vital materials, resulting in potential animal welfare issues and a threat to livelihoods in the agriculture sector.

We’ve all told the odd fib, or perhaps embellished the truth a little, but have you ever dived so deep into a falsehood that your entire life felt like a lie?

Back in the early 2000s, a couple of gutsy, talented Scottish rappers took a bus down to London to audition for a record company looking for the next Eminem. One of the executives dismissed them as the ‘rapping Proclaimers’, and they headed home, dejected and deflated.

But Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd (not to be confused with the Lord of the Rings actor) didn’t give up, deciding instead to reinvent themselves in the most audacious way possible. They renamed themselves Silibil N’ Brains, pretended they were an established duo from California and, before long, had a record deal, a big flat in Soho and all the excesses – and potential risks – that came with it. 

Were they out purely for themselves or were they aiming to expose the hypocrisy of the business? Maybe a bit of both.

It’s a cracking true story, and X-Men and Atonement star James McAvoy has turned it into a movie called California Schemin’, with a script by Elaine Gracie and Archie Thomson.

Asked why he picked this tale for his directorial debut, the Scottish-born star, 46, told Metro: ‘It gave me the opportunity to tell a unique story about people from a working-class background. It’s entertaining and with a possibility of reaching a mainstream audience – quite rare in the film business – while being funny and underpinned by some real stakes.’

In order to make their fake identities seem more believable, the boys agreed fully to inhabit their new characters, speaking with American accents and doing their best not to call each other by their real names. But, as is the case in many stories depicting a sharp, misguided trajectory to success, the two weren’t always on the same page, Gavin wrestling with his demons and ambition, and Billy trying to maintain a solid relationship with Mary, his girlfriend back home.

‘There was personal health, wellbeing and sanity at stake here, because the boys are faced with the opportunity to get ahead by sacrificing one of the most important things you have in this life, which is your personal identity, authenticity and integrity,’ says James, who plays a terrifying record company boss in the movie. ‘That’s also important to the art form, that they love each other so much.’

It’s not clear whether the two men’s friendship is still as tight in real life. Although they both continue to make music, Billy works on an oil rig and is devoted to his family. The film is based on Gavin’s book about the events, so he played a key part in the shape of California Schemin’. Billy got involved towards the end of the project (having previously been affiliated with another version of the story).

‘I think at times it’s difficult for them watching it, because we show them at their funniest and their best, and we also show them at their worst, making some bad choices and suffering because of it,’ says James. 

‘I can’t imagine what that would be like to watch, and reliving certain events, one of which has a guy in mortal danger at one point.’

Samuel Bottomley (who played the lead in Liam Williams coming-of-age comedy drama Ladhood) takes on the role of Billy, while Séamus McLean Ross (young Colum MacKenzie in Outlander, and the son of Deacon Blue’s Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh) plays the troubled Gavin.

While Bradford-born Samuel plays a lad with a Fife accent pretending to be American, Séamus’s starting point is a Glaswegian accent. But the biggest change for them both was the rapping; they’re both big fans of the genre, but doing it on stage (albeit on a film set) is far from easy.

‘I grew up on Eminem and Dr Dre, and I love that stuff, man,’ says Samuel. ‘We both spent a lot of time listening to the songs and practicing them.’

‘Their flows are so fast and they love putting in as many complex words into each sentence as they can,’ adds Séamus. ‘It’s like they’re tripping each other up and making it as hard as they can to impress with their battle rapping.’

Both actors felt a responsibility to respect the intensity of Gavin and Billy’s friendship, especially when you get the sense that Billy would much rather be telling the truth and being his true self with Mary (played with charm and wit by Lucy Halliday).

‘Getting into Gavin’s psyche prior to and after the lie was very interesting because it really was like two different characters – Gavin and Brains,’ says Séamus. ‘The ways in which Gavin starts and how he ends up are so different; we had to map out where we see Gavin and where we see Brains.

‘Billy’s like a catalyst for Gavin. He allows him to expand and be confident. Without him his light diminishes. We see that in some bits of the film when Billy’s not around and Gavin’s by himself. It’s almost as if he’s thinking, “I don’t know what to do when my best friend’s not here.”’

‘I was really nervous to see how Gavin took it when he saw the movie for the first time,’ adds Sam. ‘We were in the same room, watching him, and he was really happy with it.’

‘Yeah, that felt like the biggest pay-off – getting the nod from Gavin,’ echoes Séamus. Lucy also got a heartwarming message from Mary, who she describes as ‘a fiercely intelligent person who knew what she wanted, and was key in helping the boys achieve this, but also key in creating the life that she and Billy have to this day’.

James is keen to do more directing, and is particularly interested in bringing to the big screen stories about relationships – ‘the connection between people’. But first, he’s got to get back to the day job.

‘I need to make some money and be an actor for a while,’ he smiles. ‘I’ve been directing for a year and three quarters and it does not pay. Not yet anyway. Maybe film number two.’

California Schemin’ is out in UK and Irish cinemas from April 10.

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